LS 5663 Spring 2012


Module 1  Hopkins Collection


Bibliographic information:

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. I am the book: poems. New York: Holiday House, 2011. ISBN: 9780823421190

Review:

I Am The Book by Lee Bennett Hopkins is a collection of concrete and abstract poetry about books and reading. Hopkins has selected poems written by different well known poets such as Naomi Shihab Nye and Jane Yolen as well as some who may not be as familiar to young readers like Jill Corcoran and Avis Harley. However, each poem evokes images with which most readers are like identify. Metaphors, similes, rhyme and meter are used to appeal to the readers’ senses and ignite their imagination.

The table of contents and pagination enable readers to easily locate a single poem within the book. An “About The Poets” inclusion allows readers to gain a deeper understanding of each poet and his or her talent.

Yayo illustrates this collection with creative transformational and representational art using acrylics on canvas. Each painting brings the specifics of its poem partner to life with unique color and clever manipulations of objects. For instance, in one painting the book is actually a tea bag hanging from the side of an oversized tea cup. In another painting, the book is a treasure chest that has been found buried on a beach.

I Am The Book is a treasure of poetry and art that readers will surely find inspirational.



Highlighted Poem:

Paperback Plunder by Michele Krueger

 

Like a sunken treasure

Long forgotten,

I lie half buried under sand.

She remembered

her sunscreen,

her towel and hat.

She folded her blanket,

And that was that.

No last look back

For what she left behind.

Now I am here

For you to find.

Sun-drenched and salty,

Like a giant conch shell.

Lift me to you ear,

Hear the story I shall tell.

Introduction/Activity:

3rd grade: Creative Writing

After reading the entire book, re-read Paperback Plunder by Michele Krueger on page 15. Have students work in pairs or groups of three to four to create an original story that the book/shell might tell.

LS 5663 Spring 2012


Module 1:  School Poetry












Bibliographic information:

Singer, Marilyn, and Lorna Clark. All we needed to say: poems about school from Tanya and Sophie. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1996.  ISBN:  9780689806674.



Review:

All We Need To Say: poems about school from Tanya and Sophie by Marilyn Singer is a collection of poems about the activities and characters associated with an elementary school. Singer arranges the poems to alternate from one girl to the other. The result is almost conversational as we discover each young girl’s perspective on her school experiences. Singer utilizes alliteration and metaphors in her concrete poetry to appeal to all of the readers’ senses. Her selections are relatable to readers and each reinforces the theme of the book. Every poem skillfully evokes images of the girls’ experiences and understanding of their various moods as they stimulate readers’ emotions. However, there is no organizational tool that would allow a reader to easily find one specific poem in the book.

The illustrator, Lorna Clark, uses black and white photographs of very familiar school related settings and objects to add visual interest and supplement the selections. Readers can learn more details about the photographs and the school at which they were taken by reading the Acknowledgements provided on the last page. This well-known poet has provided a touching and artistic story of two children who discover they have more in common than they realized.


Highlighted Poem:

Tanya

Who is first, last and in the middle?

The answer to this riddle

is me

First in reading

writing

‘rithmitic

Last to leave the library every day

And right smack in the middle in gym

I jump

high on the trampoline

But I don’t soar

I sink

one surprising basket

But never four

There’s nothing really

bad

about being in the middle

It’s just that it feels

like you’re fiddling around

twiddling your thumbs

Because no matter how hard

you try

You can’t ever reach

the sky

Introduction/Activity:

5th grade: Character development (perspective)

After reading the entire book, re-read Tanya and ask students to relate to Tanya's perspective by recalling something they were not very good at when they were in Kindergarten or first grade. After a brief group sharing time, have them write a skill or activity on an index card but do not have them write their name on the card. Once all students have something written on a card, collect them. Create groups of students and give each group three of the index cards. Instruct students to study the cards they have been given and as a group determine how they feel first graders today might classify the skills: first, last or middle. Explain to students that it is possible that not every member of the group may agree on how to classify the skill. They must come up with solutions that will as accurately as possible, represent each member's input. Allow for each group to share their perspectives on the skills and how they settled any discrepancies among their group members.

LS 5623 Mod 6

amazon.com

goodreads.com

What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones



Module 6 Poetry, Drama, Film and Response


BIBLIOGRAPHY


Sones, Sonya. What my girlfriend doesn't know. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007. ISBN: 9780689876028


CRITICAL ANALYSIS


The sequel to What my Mother Doesn’t Know, this novel is written from Robin’s (the boyfriend) point of view in free verse poetry. He covers topics that are pressing in his life such as first love, bullying and other typical high school issues and insecurities. The novel is honest and emotional as it offers a perspective rarely shared. Readers may be surprised at how a young man’s actions are so closely tied to his feelings. Robin demonstrates how young men may struggle to express their feelings, deal with the pain that others inflict upon them or handle rejection, teasing and temptation.  Truly insighful and entertaining, this is another important novel of prose for young readers.


BOOK HOOK/EXPLEMPLARY OR FAVORITE LINES


I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Tired Of This: (pg 93)


Of letting


my fingers






Swirl across the silky skin


on Sophie’s hands


While she swirls hers


across mine,






Lacing


and unlacing,






In this kind of floaty,


fingertip dance…






Both of us practically


in a trance.





Author’s website: http://www.sonyasones.com/






EXTERNAL ASSESSMENTS






School Library Journal


This sequel to What My Mother Doesn't Know (S & S, 2001) stands completely on its own. Robin's life at Cambridge High School is miserable. The arty outsider's last name becomes the pejorative slang of the school—as in, "Don't be such a Murphy." His lot improves, however, when popular Sophie becomes his girlfriend despite the detriment to her reputation. Better still, the freshman is invited to audit an art class at Harvard. It is his homecoming; for once, he is the comedian rather than the butt of jokes. One of the college freshmen even shows some romantic interest in him. Written as a novel in verse, this title is a fast-paced, page-turning romp that gives authentic voice to male youth even when it is painfully truthful.


Booklist


In What My Mother Doesn't Know (2001), 14-year-old Sophie, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, teen, describes her surprise when she is drawn to Robin, the school-appointed loser who makes her laugh. In this sequel, Robin picks up the narrative in rapid-fire, first-person free verse as he describes their school's reaction to the relationship: "They're gawking at us / like Sophie's Beauty and I'm the Beast." Sophie compares the two to outlaws: "It's just you and me against the world." But after Sophie's friends dump her, Robin feels guilty for the "random acts of unkindness" she endures: "Sophie may feel like an outlaw, / but thanks to yours truly, / what she really is / is an outcast." A talented artist, Robin finds escape in a Harvard drawing class, where a new friendship threatens his closeness with Sophie. The story of a thrilling and faltering first love may be familiar, but Robin's believable voice is distinctive, and Sones uses her spare words (and a few drawings) to expert effect. From bad puns to breathless accounts of locking lips to anguished worries about losing Sophie, Robin reinforces the picture of an awkward, likable, intelligent, and realistically flawed young man. Many teens will see themselves, and they'll cheer when Sophie and Robin thwart the bullies and reclaim their social standing. Like Sones' other titles, this is a great choice for reluctant and avid readers alike.

LS 5623 Mod 6

amazon.com

mowrites4kids.drury.edu

Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by twentieth-century American Art edited by Jan Greenberg


Module 6 Poetry, Drama, Film and Response



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Greenberg, Jan. Heart to heart: new poems inspired by twentieth-century American art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001. ISBN: 0810943867



CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This anthology is a unique pairing of original poetry inspired by iconic 20th century art. The result is both moving and profound. Biographical information is included for poets and artists as well as photograph and poem credits. Some poets and artists featured are Carole Boston Weatherford, William H. Johnson, Jane O. Wayne and Milton Avery. In some cases it is hard to believe that the art and poem were not created by the same person. The parings are so connected that it is difficult to separate the two. Broken into chapters such as “Stories”, “Voices”, “Impressions” and Expressions”, this collection offers a variety of both art and poetry that is playful, emotional, challenging or provocative. The combination of powerful images and compelling language is impressive.

BOOK HOOK/EXPLEMPLARY OR FAVORITE LINES

Jan Greenberg has received many awards for her books. They include the ALA Notable, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Booklist Editor’s Choice, IRA Teacher’s Choice, Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book, and Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Book.

Author’s Website: http://www.jangreenbergsandrajordan.com/



EXTERNAL ASSESSMENTS



School Library Journal

Greenberg invited 43 poets to choose a piece of modern art and to write a poetic response to it. The result is a gorgeous, thoughtful, stimulating collection of art and poetry that turns the standard poetry/art book on its head. "How would you paint a poem?" Bobbi Katz asks in her response to a Mark Rothko painting. "Prepare the canvas carefully/With shallow pools of color/Stacked secrets waiting to be told-." Greenberg's book might best be seen as an embodiment of that poem. Each work of art is impeccably reproduced, the color and design are exceptional, and each poem is given room on the page to breathe. The art glows, the words reflect the images and create more light-"Florine, we would live inside your colors! Red joy,/golden rushes of hope-" Naomi Shihab Nye writes about Florine Stettheimer's The Cathedrals of Broadway. If a picture book is defined as a marriage of word and art, then Heart to Heart is not only a wonderful poetry collection, but also a picture book of the highest quality.





Booklist

Specially commissioned, original poems celebrate some of the finest twentieth-century American art in this beautiful, surprising volume. Such well-known writers as Nancy Willard, X. J. Kennedy, Lee Upton, and Angela Johnson wrote poems inspired by artworks created through the century, but the book's organization is thematic rather than chronological. The poems are grouped according to how the writer responded to the art: some tell a story about the whole painting; some speak from the perspective of an object within the artwork; some transform the visual elements into poetic metaphors; some talk about the artists and their techniques. From a tight diamante and pantoum to lyrical free verse, the range of poetic styles will speak to a wide age group. Younger children, for example, will love Deborah Pope's "On Lichtenstein's 'Bananas and Grapefruit,'" which melts quickly down the page to a delicious ending: "gulppulp / sweet part / eat / art." Teens (and adults) will enjoy the inquisitive depth of such selections as Ronald Wallace's "Mobile/Stabile." Concluding with biographical notes on each poet and artist, this rich resource is an obvious choice for teachers, and the exciting interplay between art and the written word will encourage many readers to return again and again to the book. To learn more about the book's origins, see the Story behind the Story on the opposite page.

LS 5623 Mod 6



goodreads.com




amazon.com


















Falling Hard 100 Love Poems by Teenagers edited by Betsy Franco


Module 6 Poetry, Drama, Film and Response



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Franco, Betsy. Falling hard: 100 love poems by teenagers. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780763634377

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This anthology claims to be written by teenagers of various sexual orientations. The free verse poems represented in this collection are bold, honest, insightful and sensitive. Some are works that depict harsh realities while other poems tell of the sweet, hopeful joy that only love provides. Although this book includes submissions from writers as young as twelve, some topics are of a much more mature nature. Due to the genuine vocabulary, creativity and talent of these young poets this collection remains very popular within a popular young adult genre.

BOOK HOOK/EXPLEMPLARY OR FAVORITE LINES

Inside cover: The vertigo-inducing realm of romantic love is captured in the unforgettable collection of one hundred poems by teens. The writers are straight, gay, lesbian, bi or transgender; they live next door or across an ocean; they are innocent or experienced. Poetic explorations range from new love to stale love, from obsession to ennui, from ecstasy to heartbreak, and every nuance in between. Some verses are touching and comical, others are ineffably tragic. Feelings may be tender and sweet or brutal and biting. No matter which stage or shade is articulated, love is exquisitely, endlessly fascinating.



Author’s Website: http://www.betsyfranco.com/index.htm



EXTERNAL ASSESSMENTS



From School Library Journal

Falling Hard was compiled mostly by email from teenagers from many different backgrounds, and with different sexual orientations. Only their names and ages are given. The poems are written in free verse and are honest, sometimes explicit, and creative (there is an ode to a piano, and a "Pledge of Affection to a Nerd"). Love is variously compared to a psychic leech and the sting of a bee. Some of the poems have strong language. Interracial relationships, being gay ("Kiss a guy, get a man/Be a bi, lend a hand"), sex, break-ups, flirting, the intensity of love ("blinding flashing lightning in my guts") and jealousy are among the topics addressed. "Blackberries" by Emma Marlowe, age 17, uses vivid images of "flying on wings of hemp and silver/waxing sunlight crackles through dust/gold glass on a poisoned oak" and "I had to brush my taste to keep the teeth of him/out of my head."

From Booklist

The teen poets in this lively anthology knock greeting-card clichés even as they celebrate their romance and their passion (“I want to wrap around you / I want to get inside you”) and vent their hurt, anger, and longing. Most poems were submitted to Franco by e-mail from the U.S., but some also came from abroad. Just the teens’ names and ages are given, but their writing reveals a wide diversity of race, sexual identity, maturity, and lifestyle. With a spacious open design, the poems are not arranged in any particular order, true to the way readers will dip in and browse. Some of the simplest lines say the most: “I want you less than I thought I did. / And I love you more than I ever knew.” From the pain of breakup and denial to affection and desire, the feelings in these poems will ring true to gay and straight teens alike.

LS 5623 Mod 5

barnesandnoble.com

War is…by Marc Aronson


Module 5 History, Biography and Nonfiction

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aronson, Marc, and Patricia J. Campbell. War is--: soldiers, survivors, and storytellers talk about war. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 2008. ISBN 9780763636258

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Editors Marc Aronson and Patty Campbell do not pretend to have unbiased feelings toward America’s participation in wars. This compilation of interviews, plays, poetry and memoirs provides a varied look at the horrors of war. It does not however, offer an impartial debate with various perspectives represented. This book’s sole intent is to expose readers a specific component of military service-war.

Readers will hear firsthand from soldiers, civilians and parents of military members how savage war is. Accounts of what life is like after a war has been waged are also included and are even more difficult to contemplate.

This resource presents authentic and accurate narrative opinions from the distinct perspective of service men and women who signed up for military service with no intention of fighting in battles. However, it may prove to be more effective in its intended purpose-to persuade readers not to support war- if it included accounts from military personnel and their families who felt compelled and honored to serve their country at times of war. I feel the stories of their sacrifice alongside the stories of those who served only because they had no other choice, would lend more credibility to the editors’ argument that war is horrid. When readers learn of the tragedies the military face on and off the battle field they may begin to feel gratitude for the ransoms paid for their freedom. Perhaps they would then be more apt to support the men and women who gave of themselves and look for ways to avoid war in the future.

BOOK HOOK/EXPLEMPLARY OR FAVORITE LINES/STUDENT REVIEWS

“WAR IS…

         Crazy, History, Deception, Unbearable, Delusion, Male, Linked with religion, Worse for Civilians, Impossible to Win, Inevitable?” (Aronson 3-6)

STUDENT REVIEWAllison's review


Jul 09, 11


bookshelves: ya-lit


Read in July, 2011


This book was interesting. I like the different perspectives they gave from different wars, but it still felt kind of biased. I thought that this book was more about showing both sides of the war debate, and less about discouraging future generations from making was in the first place. I agree that war is a terrible thing, but I also think it's currently a necessary thing. It seemed like the book was kind of pacifist. It was not what I expected, and a little disappointing, but not bad overall.
Warnings: There's some cursing (up to the f-bomb), some yucky descriptions of dead people, and mentions of sexual harassment, but this is about soldiers and war, so it shouldn't be too unexpected.



EXTERNAL ASSESSMENTS

School Library Journal

Aronson and Campbell have collected an outstanding array of essays, interviews, blog posts, articles, song lyrics, short stories, and letters from people directly involved in war. The book is broken into sections called "Deciding About War," "Experiencing War," and "The Aftermath of War." A former soldier writes an open letter to young enlistees, hoping they will scrutinize their reasons for joining up. The U.S. military recruitment contract is minutely examined by a high school social studies teacher. World War II reporter Ernie Pyle's articles on D-Day are reprinted. An essay about women soldiers who served in Iraq is excerpted from Helen Benedict's forthcoming book, The Lonely Soldier. And a memoir by poet Fumiko Miura, survivor of the atomic bomb at Nagasaki, is included. The volume closes with a short play and a short story about the aftereffects of war. The editors make it plain that they are antiwar, but they have made an effort to convey a variety of experiences. Overall, however, war is shown to be brutal, life-changing (not for the better), and ongoing. Aronson notes that humans have gone to war for all of recorded history and show no signs of stopping now. Many books about war for young people make it seem glamorous, exciting, and noble. This powerful collection shows its inglorious, perhaps more realistic side.

Booklist

In his provocatively titled introduction, “People Like War,” Aronson writes: “If we ask people to fight for us—as we always have and always will—we owe them the respect of listening to them.” Though differing (passionately) about war’s inevitability, his coeditor, Campbell, feels likewise, and joins him in presenting a gathering of reminiscences, interviews, letters, published articles, and literary works that brilliantly convey war’s terrible appeal as well as its realities and lasting effects on those whose lives are personally touched by armed conflict. Contributions include Ernie Pyle’s eloquent account of wreckage on a D-Day beach, a Vietnam vet’s nightmarish memories of combat, jokey letters home by Campbell’s naive doughboy father, scathing accounts of sexual harassment in Iraq and elsewhere from several female ex-GIs, and a disturbing indictment of recruiting practices in today’s high schools. Anyone considering enlistment will find these pieces (not to mention the many titles provided in the ample but not indigestible lists of war fiction and nonfiction at the end) to be mesmerizing reading. With this collection, Aronson and Campbell have provided an uncommonly valuable source of hard information and perceptive insight.

LS 5623 Mod 5

educationworld.com

cincinnatilibrary.org

33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women’s Historyby Tanya Bolden


Module 5 History, Biography and Nonfiction



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bolden, Tonya. 33 things every girl should know about women's history: from suffragettes to skirt lengths to the ERA. New York: Crown Publishers, 2002. ISBN 0375911227



CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Bolden has skillfully selected articles, poetry and entries to be included in this album of important history. Readers are taken through the toughest and most merciless trials of women in America as they struggled to ensure a fair and equally valued life for all future women in this country. We meet the female athletes, artists, politicians, astronauts and soldiers that pressed through unimaginable obstacles to secure their own dreams and to provide a way for others to follow their dream as well.

After gleaning the knowledge one does from reading this book, empowered readers may also be awakened to a sense of responsibility and duty to all who will come after them. A common message throughout the anthology is that it is imperative that the freedoms enjoyed today are not taken for granted tomorrow.

Readers cannot read this collection and not feel indebted to the women who dared to fight for our future. Some of these warriors gave up their dignity, physical health and lives for girls and women they would never meet but believed would have a more fulfilling life due to their sacrifices.

Bolden has provided an important resource for all Americans; one that should be studied by every young woman and the men who care for them.

BOOK HOOK/EXPLEMPLARY OR FAVORITE LINES

“Some leaders are born women.” Geraldine Ferraro, politician (Bolden 66)

“I am not belittling the brave pioneer men, but the sunbonnet as well as the sombrero has helped to settle this glorious land of ours.” Edna Ferber, novelist (Bolden 66)

“She (First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt) called weekly press conferences restricted to women reporters (as a way of forcing newspapers to hire some)…” (Bolden 106)

“History is full of women who stuck their neck out, heroic women who braved isolation or ridicule to be the first females in their fields.” (Bolden 141)



EXTERNAL ASSESSMENTS



School Library Journal

In an impressive collection of articles, poems, diary entries, and fiction, Bolden builds a strong historical foundation about women's history. The opening poem, "Past Is Prologue," sets the tone: "You can't go anywhere in this world really without knowing where you as a woman have been." Abigail Adams's remarkable 1775 correspondence with her husband, in which she asserts the need for equality, follows: "-I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors." Thoughtful selections about the suffrage movement, the 1848 Women's Convention at Seneca Falls, men who are feminists, women's firsts, fashion trends, and rebels are also included. Wise quotations by women will find their way onto many bulletin boards and mirrors: "What we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down" (Mary Pickford) and "I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself" (Rita Mae Brown). The tone throughout is positive and informative, empowering teens with neglected facts about and contributions of women to the history of the United States. With plentiful black-and-white illustrations and photos and an appealing format, this is a valuable book.

Booklist

Bolden, the compiler of 33 Things Every Girl Should Know (1998), focuses on women's history this time, providing a cornucopia of information, some of which will surprise readers. Drawing from a number of sources and authors, she covers a wide range of topics, arranging her material mostly chronologically. There's the famous letter from Abigail Adams reminding her husband to "remember the ladies," essays about the suffrage movement, and information on women of the West and women in war, Eleanor Roosevelt, beauty, and girl singing groups of the 1960s. A chart shows the ways women's fashions have changed and a time line follows the progress (and lack thereof) of the women's rights movement. There are also bibliographies, biographical profiles, and poetry, with everything set down in a format that cleverly uses typeface and photographs to draw readers in. This is a very strong, highly readable offering that gives context to the feminist movement--and demystifies that controversial term.